In Love With Container Gardening

I think that I am in love.  Container gardening is right up my alley; little to no weeding, color, composition, beautiful pots...dreamy.  My good friend asked me to help translate her aesthetic (which she has done beautifully inside her home) to the outside with some window boxes and pots.  Needless to say, I am learning a lot.

With pots it is important to choose plants with a similar watering schedule.  For example: succulents will mold with too much watering and evergreen trees and shrubs need a lot of water, especially in the beginning...so planting them together can be problematic.  Don't rely solely on flowers to bring in color.  The Tulips in this picture have already lost their petals and soon the Ranunculus will follow but the color contrast of Black Mondo Grass, Coral Bells, and Euphorbia Martinii will remain.

One tip I learned from this month's Sunset was that Tulips and Ranunculus shouldn't be cut back once the flower dies because they continue to store energy for the next year's show.  They can be cut back once the stems and leaves have died.  Sunset recommends overseeding with Cosmos, whose foliage and flowers will help to hide the dying flowers.

Because the boxes are so vibrant we chose simple cream pots and used a more subdued color palette next to the front door.

Originally, we had thought this maple would be pretty by the front door but it was much too big and competed with the planter boxes.  I think they picked perfect place for it; in front of the cream shingles it offers a welcoming pop of color

I am kicking myself for not taking a before picture of this.  The bed was considerably lower then the railway tie and ended abruptly.  I brought the bed up with potting soil and continued it to the end of the path.  I transplanted the existing ground cover and succulents and added river rock to add some texture.  I also planted Lithodra, which is a ground cover with beautiful bright blue flowers.

I have a few more projects that we are working on that I will show in the next couple weeks.  Yes, I am as giddy as a school girl!

Plant a Vegetable Garden and Create Your Own "Food Revolution"

I haven't been a faithful watcher of Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution but I happened to tune into one episode where he asked a bunch of elementary school kids to name a bunch of vegetable in their raw form and they simply couldn't do it.  Tomatoes were apples and eggplant got a blank stare.  It was pretty shocking.  Our food has become so severely over processed that there is a disconnect from the garden to the plate.  One way to remedy this is to invite your children into the kitchen, involving them in cooking "real food".  Another way is to plant a vegetable garden and let them help in the responsibilities of planting, tending and harvesting.  I had two of my favorite friends over to help me plant some of our vegetables last week. 

They really took control, I didn't put one plant in the ground!  A week later they are asking if the plants have grown and if they can come over to plant some more.  Imagine how exciting harvesting and cooking with these vegetables is going to be for them.

I made a trellis for my snap peas out of a U shaped bamboo stake and some twine.  You can also use this method with tomatoes, which I'll be sure to show when I plant them.

Until the weather gets a little warmer we stuck with heartier plants like: beets, brussel sprouts, snap peas, leeks and various herbs.

I was warned by several seasoned gardeners that I might have a slug invasion if I planted lettuce in my raised beds.  There are methods to combat this like; planting geraniums next to them (which the slugs tend to favor and fill up on) or creating a copper border (which they apparently have an aversion to).  I opted for planting my lettuce and spinach in a pot (39.00 Costco).

If you live in a more urban environment you can grow all your vegetables in containers as long as you have adequate sunlight.  Even if it is a small pot of herbs it is worthwhile.  The point is that, every time you go out and pick off a sprig and put it in your food you are reminding yourself and your kids, if you have them, that our food comes from somewhere.  And that somewhere isn't from a package!

Using Hardscapes in Your Backyard

Steve is on Spring break and so the backyard project continues through the rain and wind.  I want to talk about the importance of hardscapes.  While it is much more fun to think about beautiful plants, you will save yourself a lot of time and money if you carefully define the spaces in your backyard.  We decided to use pea gravel and drain rock because it creates varied texture and will save us from a huge lawn that needs constant watering and garden beds that need constant weeding.

We found clean bagged topsoil for free on Craig's List, now we just need to fill the top with organic soil to grow our veggies in.  We spent about $30.00 on wood to encase the bricks.  They are secured by wooden stakes that will be covered with drain rock.

To break up the drain rock I am going to make a rounded raised bed and plant low maintenance ornamental grasses and ground cover with some flowers to add color.

For this area of the yard we are using lots of right angles to create the illusion of a puzzle with pieces of grass, gravel, brick and dirt.

Until we have finished all the hardscaping I have promised myself that I won't plant amongst the mess of the yard.  However, there is no reason not to fill up my pots with hearty plants that add beauty to my patio and can be transplanted in my yard later.  I love succulents, burgundy festival grass, Euphorbia martinii, auburn sedge, plum pudding coral bells, and ground cover like Sedum Limelight.

Our patio is in terrible shape and while we hemmed and hawed about tearing it up and laying pavers, it was just too expensive of an undertaking.  Instead we invested in this beautiful outdoor carpet made from polypropylene which is mold, fade, and water resistant.  At almost 8x11 feet it is large enough to cover most of our patio.  Overstock has a great selection of these rugs in all sizes and colors and the best part is that the shipping is always 2.50!

Planing your space ahead of time will give a canvas that is beautiful on it's own and will be enhanced by what you plant on it.

Raised Garden Beds With Reclaimed Materials

Last week I confessed my desire for a green thumb and low and behold the clouds broke and my will was tested.  I found a great raised bed tutorial online but for a price tag of 170.00 per bed I knew that it was simply not in the budget.  The budget is $0 by the way.  So, I took to Craig's List to see what was shaking in the free department.  A lot was going on people.  Have you been there?  We found free wood, gravel, river rock, even a pair of iron Japanese lanterns.  My husband borrowed my brothers truck and in a few short hours he was piecing together the boxes.

This wood was reclaimed from an old antique shop in Seattle and we pulled the cement brick pavers from an unused patio in our front yard.

We put down a weed barrier cloth and then topped it with sand (reclaimed from the front yard patio we got the bricks from).  Steve dragged a 2x4 across the sand to level it and began placing the bricks in a random pattern.

 

We didn't get all our bricks down before the rains came back.  The next step is to cover the path with sand, sweeping it into the cracks and then wetting it down with a hose so it becomes compact.  Tutorials suggest that you may have to repeat this process to create a truly stable surface.  

Yes, our wood is mismatched and our pathway might not be quite level but I have to say that nothing looks quite as good as free feels!

More pictures and updates to come.

Too much information? Probably.

Because life is more about the journey

Born February 17th, 1981 in Sidney, Australia, whilst my parents where circumnavigating the globe on their sailboat "Southern Cross". Named Camiguin after a beautiful island in the Philippines and Piper after the marina where our boat was moored.

On my way to visit the Komodo Dragons, which begs me to question whether watching giant lizards rip into a fresh goat constituted as desensitization in 1981.

 "One of these these things is not like the others..." Hanging out with my friends in TY Court, Bangkok, Thailand.  My parents taught at Bangkok International School for two years.

 

Have passport, will travel. Begrudgingly.

 

 Checking out the catch of the day.  Yes, the cute chubby one is my brother, but hey let's stay focused here.  This relationship could also be illustrated by a picture that fortunately never was taken.  It involves a baby in a crib, an urge to go #2 and a very jealous and nimble big sister.

Because someone had to address the effects of salt water on Grandpa's hair.

 
My 3rd birthday just off the coast of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.  My mother set the bar pretty high with homemade party hats and a German chocolate cake from scratch.

 
I spent most of adolescence with my nose in a book, which hopefully explains what you see here in terms of personal grooming...

...and the rest of my time in a ballet studio or on stage.

 
In college, I honed my culinary skills and sense of humor.  Additionally, I managed to walk away with a degree in creative writing with the encouraging words of a professor, "there is no job called writer" ringing in my ears.

 
 Met my dream guy and married him despite concerns that he seemed a little too perfect.  "Are you sure he is not a serial killer?"

Yes, I am sure.

January 31st, 2008 our precious Pearl is born.  I promptly place her in a clam shell and take her picture, savoring the symbolism.  My husband looks on wondering if his mere presence can implicate him in this abusive act.

 

 

But as it turns out she has no problem with the spotlight.

This blog is my reminder to live each day grateful for what I have and to look to each new day as an opportunity for discovery.